Monday, March 30, 2009

Sunday, March 29, 2009

◼ Music festival teeters on the edge...In previous years, Maxon said the festival enjoyed generous sponsorships from local banks and lumber companies. Those are gone this year.

”They just weren't able to be sponsors this year with the way the economy is,” Maxon explained, adding that the festival is out $50,000 in sponsorship revenue this year. “Even in a promoter's wildest dreams, you can't make that (amount) up in ticket sales.”...

Funny. I don't see the job-killers on the list of sponsors. How much does the "Alliance for Ethical Business" "Humboldt Watershed Council" "Baykeeper" and any of Kaitlin/Cobb's numerous front groups contribute? The big donors used to give ten and twenty thousand, didn't they? How much did "Baykeeper" give?

...First to go - immediately for some people - is drinkable water. Anyone living in a high-rise apartment, where water has to be pumped to reach them, would be cut off straight away. For the rest, drinking water will still come through the taps for maybe half a day. With no electricity to pump water from reservoirs, there is no more after that.

There is simply no electrically powered transport: no trains, underground or overground. Our just-in-time culture for delivery networks may represent the pinnacle of efficiency, but it means that supermarket shelves would empty very quickly - delivery trucks could only keep running until their tanks ran out of fuel, and there is no electricity to pump any more from the underground tanks at filling stations.

Back-up generators would run at pivotal sites - but only until their fuel ran out. For hospitals, that would mean about 72 hours of running a bare-bones, essential care only, service. After that, no more modern healthcare....

According to information from Humboldt County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Brenda Godsey, shortly after midnight, deputies were dispatched to a local hospital where 31-year-old Grady Donald Longacre was being treated for a stab wound he sustained to his abdomen.

Longacre's injury was serious but not life-threatening, Godsey said.

Witnesses were interviewed, and the investigating deputy reportedly learned Longacre and 30-year-old David Dwayne Ganfield had been involved in a fight at a residence on A Street in McKinleyville. Witnesses indicated that they heard Ganfield yelling at another person before Longacre stepped in to intervene.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN CLAIMS TO LIVE IN MARYLAND - The salary for a congressman is $162,500 per year plus perks. Despite this kind of pay, Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) claimed his primary residence as being in Maryland to save just $3,853 in taxes. He is registered to vote in California and has a California driver's license. He is not alone. Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) has done the same thing. These are the same guys calling the Wall Street guys crooks....

...Stark, 77, confirmed in a telephone interview last week that he and his wife, Deborah, are registered to vote in California’s 13th congressional district using the address of her parents in San Lorenzo, about 25 miles southeast of San Francisco. Stark also said both he and his wife have California driver’s licenses....

tark is not alone among politicians who have claimed the tax credit. Last week, the Associated Press reported that U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, was declared ineligible by Maryland officials for the tax break he has been receiving for a home he owns in Montgomery County, Maryland, a Washington suburb. A state official said her office is reviewing the eligibility of other members of Congress who own property in Montgomery County and claim the credit....

Roberta Ward, office manager of the state Department of Assessments and Taxation’s Montgomery County branch, said her staff has been cracking down on members of Congress from other states who were claiming the homestead tax credit.

“Somebody let it be known that a lot of congressmen were getting the tax break, Ward said. ‘‘So then we got a list’’ a few years ago and ‘‘we sent letters to all the congressmen’’ who own property in the county. She estimated the process involved more than a dozen lawmakers.

Constitutional Requirements

To serve in the House, the U.S. Constitution says that candidates must be U.S. citizens for at least seven years, an ‘‘inhabitant’’ of the state in which they seek election and 25 years old when their first term would begin. California law says the residence for its House members is determined by where they are registered to vote, which is ‘‘conclusively presumed’’ to be their domicile....

◼ News◼ BBC Venezuela military 'seizes ports'President Hugo Chavez has pushed for the move, describing it as "reunifying the motherland, which was in pieces".Critics of Mr Chavez says the plans are unconstitutional, but the National Assembly backed them a week ago, saying they would improve essential services. - it's for your own good, really.

Soldiers were seen moving into major sites on Saturday, among them the port at Maracaibo, Venezuela's main oil-producing city - an opposition stronghold in the state of Zulia, AFP reported.Facilities in at least three opposition-run states were seized, according to reports.Since the government lost a number of key seats, including the mayoralty of Caracas, in local elections last year, there have been regular clashes over jurisdiction between local mayors and the national government.

☛ TS Felony grave-looting charge dropped for TruhlsA felony charge against a Eureka man who allegedly removed artifacts from the site of a Yurok ancestral village was dropped Thursday after a Humboldt County judge ruled there was too little evidence to show an arrowhead had been taken out of a grave.

At the conclusion of his preliminary hearing Thursday, James Edward Truhls, 30, was cleared of one felony charge alleging he looted artifacts from out of a grave at an archeological site in Patrick's Point State Park.

Truhls still faces two misdemeanor charges for allegedly removing archeological interests and injuring a work of art.

As Truhls' two-day preliminary hearing came to an end, Judge Joyce Hinrichs ruled prosecutors produced no evidence demonstrating Truhls took an arrowhead from out of a grave -- an action specified in the felony charge.

The charge required prosecutors to show evidence Truhls took an item he knew to be an artifact, which had formerly been located in a grave. Hinrichs said although evidence demonstrated Truhls knew the item was an artifact, it did not show the artifact had been buried with a body.

During her closing statement, Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy argued that Truhls “knew it was illegal that he was digging there.”

The evidence, McKimmy said, “clearly indicates that the defendant took at least two, possibly three, items from an area that has been identified as a Native American grave site.”

Hinrichs later ruled that the statute is limited to graves, and does not include grave sites.

”The law requires that it be taken from a grave,” Hinrichs said. “There hasn't been any testimony that says it was taken from a grave.”...

Now, BEAR IN MINDYouTube video leads to graverobber's arrestThe discerning eye of a federal Bureau of Land Management employee and the investigative skills of Patrick's Point State Park Ranger Greg Hall led to the arrest of a Eureka man this week on suspicion of looting archaeological items from an ancient tribal village site.

At the center of the investigation was a video the suspect created and subsequently posted on YouTube showing him digging at the village site within Patrick's Point State Park.

”It was a bragging video,” Hall said.

With a search warrant for YouTube, Hall was able to determine the location of the computer used to upload the video and able to identify the suspect by looking at other videos he had posted, since his face was not readily visible in the looting film.

Hall said he then contacted the property management company who handled the suspect's rental, and was able to obtain his cellular phone number and convince the suspect to come in for questioning.

With another search warrant, state park rangers had searched the suspect's Eureka home earlier in the day and found several artifacts from the North Coast and other areas

Friday, March 20, 2009

With all the things going on, you just have to sigh when you see another Times Standard headline for Pot. You get the feeling all the reporters do is sit around smoking dope and wishing it was legal. Once again they are calling for selective enforcement of laws.

Legalize it and stop this sham that has nothing to do with 'medicine' and everything to do with allowing massive grows for obscene profits. Let the grower-dealers pay the 50% of their incomes in taxes, make them comply with the laws, taxes, employee withholdings, business licenses, fees, employee withholdings and paperwork, labor and environmental compliance - all of the things that they are unjustly avoiding right now.

It's not just about Ammiano's tax on an ounce of dope, it's about fundamental honesty and fairness, and equal treatment under the law.

And, you're in dangerous territory when you are applauding the Government choosing to ignore its own laws. If you - if the people - think the law is wrong, they must change the law, eliminate it if you will, but what is happening now shows that the rule of law means nothing. That does seem to be where we are headed, where lawmakers like Thompson are constructing new laws to punish those they are angry at, and simultaneously choosing to let others break laws and slide, you really are in trouble.

Your laws either mean something or they don't. Apparently it is the latter.

We're in Animal Farm territory, with all pigs being equal, but some pigs are more equal than others.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Be remiss not to post this
☛ TS Gundersen pleads not guilty
”There's no merit to these charges -- it's that simple,” Clanton said after Friday's arraignment.

☛ riodelltimes People vs. David Gundersen Part IIJudge Cissna patiently listened to the blunt statements from David Gundersen’s defense attorney Russell Clanton. Clanton emphatically states that Mr. Gundersen is “not guilty! .. and we also deny the special allegations.” While discussing an intervention hearing Clanton declared “no disrespect your Honor, it is pointless. There is no criminal liability for my client and it is just that simple.” Clanton also mentions that he has notified the District Attorney’s office that there has been an appeal filed on the earlier conviction.

Representing the people, Deputy District Attorney Mary McCarthy stood in for DA Paul Gallegos. She indicated that Gallegos will be making the decisions on the case, including the intervention hearing. Note: the intervention hearing is not open to the public. The hearing will be March 30th at 3pm. Judge Cissna ordered Mr Gallegos or the person making the decisions be present at the next hearing.

Other important dates: May 6th at 3pm will be a trial confirmation hearing with the trial starting May 18th.... ☛ riodelltimes read the rest

Saturday, March 14, 2009

On 3-14-2009 at about 4:35 am, Officers of the Eureka Police Department were dispatched to the 100 block of West 7th Street to a reported suspicious vehicle. The reporting party stated that there was a white sedan parked on 7th Street, occupied by at least two subjects with hoods pulled up over their heads.

As units arrived on scene, they located a vehicle matching the description leaving the area. When a traffic stop was attempted on the vehicle, the vehicle fled. When the vehicle reached 5th Street, it sped up to over 100 mph. The vehicle tried to negotiate a N/B turn onto "R" Street, however due to its speed the vehicle impacted into the Pizza Hut building. Three subjects fled from the vehicle, but were taken into custody a short distance away by responding units.

A firearm was located at the 500 block of 5th Street, soon after the pursuits conclusion. The firearm had damage consistent to multiple skid/strikes against the pavement. It is suspected that it was thrown from the vehicle during the pursuit. The firearm will be processed for evidence.

The three suspects are identified as:

Waymond Richard Kelly (26 years old of Eureka) was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for possession of a controlled substance and a parole hold.

Michael Tray Johns (28 years old of Eureka) was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on a parole hold.Nathan Aaron Ruptak (27 years old of Eureka) was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of evading the police, resisting arrest, and a parole hold.

Kelly and Johns are persons of interest in the recent home invasion robbery that occurred on 3-6-2009.

This is an active investigation and anyone with information concerning this incident or the home invasion robbery are urged to contact the Eureka Police Department's Criminal Investigations Section at 707-441-4300.

They file lawsuit after lawsuit, all in attempt to keep Phillip Morris in check—you just can’t have that supervision with so many smaller operations going on....

Another interesting twist if the orgs, who were pressing for legalization of Pot suddenly start decrying its harmful properties - all in the name of money. Predatory Litigious Orgs are the new growth industry after all.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

TS comments on the suspected murder in McKinleyville bring up this question anon asksWhy does the Times Standard completely ignore the 2 young women missing from Eureka at different times but covers this Bradshaw case in detail when it is so obvious what happened to her? The 2 women that are missing are listed on the www.kmud.org website under Local News.

Missing: Christine Noel McArthur Written by Simon The Eureka Police Department is requesting the public's assistance in locating a missing juvenile named Christine Noel McArthur. Christine is a white 16 year old female, 5'07", she weighs 100 lbs, has brown hair and brown eyes. The last time Christine was seen was approximately two weeks ago. Any one with information regarding Christine is urged to contact PSO Mary Anderson at Eureka Police Department at (707) 441-4300 or call the 24-hour dispatch number (707) 441-4044.(Bulletin issued February 19, 2009)

Missing Person: Christine Walters Written by Administrator The Eureka Police Department is requesting the aid of the public in locating 23 year old Christine Walters. Christine has blondish-red hair and blue eyes. She is 5’4” and approximately 100 pounds. She was last seen on 11-14-08 in Eureka.

Her family has reported her missing as they have not heard from her in 10 days which they claim is unusual. Any information regarding Christine should be given to Police Services Officer Mary Anderson of the Criminal Investigation unit at 441-4300 or call the 24-hour dispatch number, 441-4044.***And - New Lead in the Reetpaul Rana Murder CaseWritten by Terri Klemetson The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office says they are continuing to investigate the murder of Reetpaul Singh Rana, the San Francisco man who’s body was found on Saturday, September 13, 2008 near the Dyerville Loop Road north of Alderpoint Road.

As previously released, Mr. Rana’s vehicle, a light blue 1996 SAAB four-door sedan, was discovered on a dirt access area on the north side of Big Lagoon on September 10, 2008. The vehicle had been damaged by fire.

Sheriff’s Detectives have determined a person of interest may have been hitchhiking near Big Lagoon on the night of Wednesday, September 10, 2008. That person, Ryan Carroll, may have hitchhiked from Big Lagoon, north on US Highway 101. Sheriff’s Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen Carroll or given him a ride that evening. (Ryan Carroll’s picture is attached).

Anyone with information about Ryan Carroll or this investigation should call Detective Cheryl Franco at (707) 268-3644 or Sergeant Wayne Hanson at (707) 268-3639.

update: looks like the TS did cover it initially - Police seek missing womanDate: November 26, 2008 The Eureka Police Department is investigating the disappearance of Christine Walters, a 23-year-old woman who has not been heard from in over a week. According to EPD information, Walters has strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes. She stands 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs around 100 pounds.

After about 10 days of failing to contact family members, Walters' family reported her missing. Walters was last seen Nov. 11 in Eureka.

Judge holds Whitmill, Flores to answer for 299 wreck
A preliminary hearing for two men allegedly involved in an October traffic collision that killed a 9-year-old girl concluded Friday morning with Humboldt County Superior Court judge finding there was enough evidence for both men to stand trial on
Gundersen pleads not guilty
Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen again pleaded not guilty to a single charge of felony grand theft at an arraignment held Friday. Gundersen stands accused of taking firearms from Trinidad Police Department evidence and later using
Masked men rob Eureka gas station
Missing fisherman's wife says captain a great boss
Wife refuses to testify against husband at preliminary hearing
Miller hearing continued to June
Man arrested in Eureka for graffiti
Police search for suspect after Hoopa warrant served
Investigator testifies suspect in fatal crash changed story
Jury: Nothnagel a sexually violent predator
Foul play now suspected in McKinleyville case
Closing arguments delivered in Nothnagel trial
Rodney Groh found guilty of murder
Officer testifies about 299 crash at prelim
Two suspects at large after armed robbery
Layoffs: Green Diamond and California Redwood cut workers
Final arguments made in Groh murder trial
Sting in Eureka captures $135,000 worth of heroin
Preliminary hearing over Highway 299 wreck continues
Trial nears end for Nothnagel
Authorities seek suspect truck in Sanders shooting

Politicians love cap and trade because they can claim to be taxing “polluters,” not workers. Hardly....

Hit hardest would be the “95% of working families” Mr. Obama keeps mentioning, usually omitting that his no-new-taxes pledge comes with the caveat “unless you use energy.” Putting a price on carbon is regressive by definition because poor and middle-income households spend more of their paychecks on things like gas to drive to work, groceries or home heating.

How you can live in Humboldt County, be witness to the overwhelming unintended consequences of defacto legalization and wish that upon the rest of the state, I do not know.

How you can write a piece on the topic and not even acknowledge that there are some risks, some problems, I do not know.

It all SOUNDS so good. Yet we know what happened here - rental houses snatched up, and eviscerated, house fires, neighborhood degradation, attracting every bum from New Jersey who thought this was the location of the new Gold Rush, Home Invasions up, murders over Pot...

If you are going to LEGALIZE IT, it has to be NATIONWIDE. If you just legalize it in California, you just turn the whole state into Humboldt County, with all the bums and criminals looking for the big bucks moving in, with their pit bulls, automatic weapons, toxic chemicals and absolute disrespect for the law. Tax cheats at best. Murderers at worst.

I've said I'm for Legalizing it so that the criminals, made legal, will have to pay taxes on their incomes, pay business expenses, and employee withholding - unintended consequences which could lead to a whole new - armed - class of IRS agents, because I do not believe that growers and dealers are going to willingly fork over 65% + of their incomes willingly.

Dave Stancliff's Op-Ed linked above, is all hearts and flowers. Too bad the world just isn't like that.***

The TS gets another pot leaf on the front page with this story - Marijuana legalization supporters say bill could save billions What are they going to do when it is legal? If it gets legalized will there still be drug tests? Will employers care if you test positive for Pot if it is legal? If it's only legal in California, will the price stay high? (no pun intended) So many questions.

And Paul Gallegos, the pot DA himself gets a quote: Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said he supports the bill, (NO KIDDING!!) but doesn't know if it will garner enough support to pass.

”I think there is a strong argument that responsible adult behavior should not be a crime ... we allow adults to drink and many can't be responsible and fair enough -- we punish them,” he said.

”It would probably reduce the value of marijuana pretty significantly, so we'd probably see a reduction if not a complete end to the ancillary crime associated with marijuana,” he said.

In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force referred a total of 394 cases to the District Attorney's Office, Gallegos said. Out of those, 356 were filed and 28 were rejected. The year's case load left 108 defendants convicted so far, but not all the cases have been resolved yet, he said.

Gallegos said each case takes half an hour just to review, so the numbers illustrate how much time and resources his officer spends on marijuana-related cases.

He said he hopes the bill will get rid of the ambiguity of Proposition 215 laws and redirect funds towards more regulation.

It's not til you get to the end of the story that you realize - this story hasn't ended yet, and it is going to end badly. Someone is going to end up dead. And when it happens, people are going to ask - why did they keep letting this guy out of jail? In fact, you have to ask, why is he out NOW?

Police are searching for four suspects allegedly involved in an armed robbery that took place at a D Street house in Eureka on Friday morning.

Eureka Police Department spokesman Lt. Murl Harpham said that at around 10 a.m., dispatchers received a call reporting a home invasion in progress at a residence on 14th and D streets. Authorities learned multiple suspects reportedly kicked their way into the house and confronted a woman inside. They were brandishing a shotgun and demanding marijuana.

Police do not yet know how many of those suspects entered the residence, Harpham said. But investigators have identified two of the suspects as Michael Tray Johns, 26, and Waymond Richard Kelly, 25. Both were previously sought by police for parole violations.

You remember WAYMOND - ...(he) Kelly was arrested in 2007 after a string of armed robberies in Eureka. He was found by EPD officers with Zachary Cooke at an abandoned residence on Albee Street. As officers approached the two men, Cooke fired a shotgun and officers returned fire. Cooke, who was shot 11 times in the incident, died at the scene. Kelly was taken into custody.

In 2008, Johns and Kelly were arrested together after an EPD officer spotted them driving a stolen station wagon. The men reportedly fled from police, and were arrested after a high-speed chase. When officers searched their car, they reportedly found shotgun shells and other ammunition in the vehicle.

Authorities urge anyone with information about the alleged robbery or the suspects' whereabouts to contact detectives at 441-4060.

☛ Rio Dell Times Home InvasionFollow-up info on the home invasion on this date. It is believed four persons were involved, one female and three males. The attached photos are two person of interest in this case and are wanted for parole violation. They are Michael Tray Johns, 26, and Waymond Richard Kelly, 25 . Any information on the whereabouts of these subjects will be accepted at the Eureka Police Department.

On 3-14-2009 at about 4:35 am, Officers of the Eureka Police Department were dispatched to the 100 block of West 7th Street to a reported suspicious vehicle. The reporting party stated that there was a white sedan parked on 7th Street, occupied by at least two subjects with hoods pulled up over their heads.

As units arrived on scene, they located a vehicle matching the description leaving the area. When a traffic stop was attempted on the vehicle, the vehicle fled. When the vehicle reached 5th Street, it sped up to over 100 mph. The vehicle tried to negotiate a N/B turn onto "R" Street, however due to its speed the vehicle impacted into the Pizza Hut building. Three subjects fled from the vehicle, but were taken into custody a short distance away by responding units.

A firearm was located at the 500 block of 5th Street, soon after the pursuits conclusion. The firearm had damage consistent to multiple skid/strikes against the pavement. It is suspected that it was thrown from the vehicle during the pursuit. The firearm will be processed for evidence.

The three suspects are identified as:

Waymond Richard Kelly (26 years old of Eureka) was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for possession of a controlled substance and a parole hold.

Michael Tray Johns (28 years old of Eureka) was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on a parole hold.Nathan Aaron Ruptak (27 years old of Eureka) was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of evading the police, resisting arrest, and a parole hold.

Kelly and Johns are persons of interest in the recent home invasion robbery that occurred on 3-6-2009.

This is an active investigation and anyone with information concerning this incident or the home invasion robbery are urged to contact the Eureka Police Department's Criminal Investigations Section at 707-441-4300.

Friday, March 06, 2009

One response to Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz's ludicrous "My Word" from someone who is directly affected by illegal grows. The author is not alone, the people in Arcata have been speaking up, and the result has been new policies and ordinances trying to stem the tide of destruction caused by the pot industry (stop pretending it is compassionate medical use).***After reading My Word in the Feb. 24, 2009, edition of the Times-Standard, I felt a response from an affected and concerned citizen was necessary.

In my opinion:

I am thankful that we have elected officials who care enough about our community to take action to stop the widespread abuse and misuse of Prop 215. They have my vote and the votes of many others. They seem to care enough about the degradation of life, for some of us, to risk not being re-elected.

The 19-year-old HSU student, according to Jeffrey Schwartz, had a few pounds of pot. He should not have had that much because it is illegal. If he had not been transporting the pot, and getting caught, he would not have gotten in trouble, now would he? It was his choice. Probably for money. He chose to do the crime.

Two of the growers recently sentenced to 270 days in jail deserved it. They contributed to a problem here in Greenview, crime. In two weeks' time, Greenview had four burglaries. It is believed the burglars were looking for pot. My house was broken into four times in one year, because of the pot smell coming from next door. Nothing was taken, because I don't have pot. The pot smell was so strong the thieves couldn't tell which house it was coming from. Try sleeping after having your house broken into!

The grower next door, before the current one, was arrested for chasing two people down Lewis Avenue with a shotgun. He had so much traffic coming and going at all hours of the day, it was ridiculous. He got off with just probation. We lost a lot of sleep because of him. He was not a good neighbor.

Two doors down from this grow house lives an elderly couple. The man is 85, the woman 83. At two in the morning the woman heard a noise in her house. She got up to see what it was, and there was a man in her bathroom. The burglar, or home invader, fled through the bathroom window. The responding APD officer said the burglar was likely after pot, as the smell was so strong in our neighborhood. That's two wrong houses burgled. The results could have been a lot worse.

I wonder why the growers have chosen Arcata neighborhoods to grow weed, and not some other place? Why not in the country? Why ruin neighborhoods? We supposedly have a housing shortage, for people, but not for pot. Go grow where you came from. Go!

Here in Arcata, things had gotten so bad that something needed to be done. Yes, it was out of control. That is why, after so much debate, Arcata passed an ordinance to, somewhat, regulate the growing of pot.

Things here really haven't changed. The grows continue, and we still don't have good neighbors. They don't know or care when someone passes away. They don't offer to help the sick or elderly. They don't keep an eye out for the few remaining children.

They don't check on neighbors when an ambulance or fire truck shows up, even with lights flashing and sirens blaring. All that concerns them is pot, money and themselves, not our community.

It is true that law enforcement has limited budgets, but that doesn't mean that pot crimes should go unprosecuted. Which crimes should be prosecuted and which shouldn't? Naturally, we should prosecute child molesters, rapists and murderers, as well as illegal pot growers, traffickers and dealers.

Please, officials of the criminal justice system, continue prosecuting these criminals. Something has to be done to stop the deterioration of life here in Humboldt County. There are still some of us who appreciate what you do, and we want the laws to be enforced.And, thank you for doing a good job. You have my vote.

jason says "90% of this letter was SPOT ON! This coming from a pro-legalizer.ED Denson very 'helpfully' suggests Paul Hooker paints a sad picture of life in Greenview. It is difficult to tell exactly what is happening because much of what he relates is either someone else's story which he is retelling, or simply his opinions stated as facts. Did the Arcata police officer tell the elderly couple that their burglar was probably looking for pot? Or did they ask him if that were likely and he agreed, or did the neighbor embellish the story when telling it to Mr. Hooker, or to the person from whom Mr. Hooker heard it? We have no way of knowing. But if things are as Mr. Hooker says, and there is a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood what we have here is a failure of law enforcement to catch burglars. not a problem with marijuana growing. Suppose the neighbors got rich and had expensive cars outside their homes and high-ticket items visible through their living room windows, and attracted burglars. Would Mr. Hooker speak out against conspicuous consumption and hope the city regulated it?

Mr. Hooker believes the marijuana gardens of which he is aware are illegal, but he has no way of knowing that. And he believes he knows which of his neighbors are growing marijuana, but he has no way to be sure of that either. What if people he thinks are fine neighbors, helping the sick, consoling survivors of family deaths, checking on neighbors when ambulances show up - what if these people are also growing marijuana?

If Greenview suffers as Mr.Hooker says, then the answer is effective law enforcement response to burglars, not persecution of or hatred directed towards medical marijuana growers. Over 100,000 Californians are finding relief from medical conditions, some life-threatening, by using medical marijuana. Someone has to grow the marijuana these people use, and it has to be done somewhere. If some of it is being grown in Greenview, and there are social problems created by that, those need to be addressed. If the growers are breaking the law, then the law should deal with them. But attacking neighbors who are not breaking the law just amplifies the social problems, while doing nothing to address them.

I suggest 3 appraoches (sp) to the problems Mr. Hooker mentions. 1) legalizing marijuana so that the price will collapse, and thus marijuana gardens will not attract burglars and more than tomato gardens do. This is a long term approach; 2) working with the Arcata police to prevent burglaries, and to catch and prosecute those who commit them, this is a medium term approach 3) talking with neighbors to see if a neighborhood watch group could reduce burglaries. This could be done today.

The one thing that will not be productive is trying to harass legal medical marijuana growers. This helps neither the neighborhood, the patients who depend upon the medicine, nor society.

NOTE THAT Ed Denson is a pot attorney and he is apparently oblivious to the enormous efforts that citizens have gone to to even get someone to listen - the enormous citizen effort it took to finally get the City Council to take up the topic, the backlash against the citizens who speak up (oh, the tolerant left), and the backlash against the Arcata Eye and it's editor Kevin Hoover for taking up the issue. The ignorance behind his comments is staggering.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Recommended reading - Victor Davis Hanson should be at the top of your reading list. This week opens thus One of the most tired rhetorical tropes in Washington starts with, “We must . . . ” In the age of Obama, this is now usually followed by “Get the cost of our health care under control,” or “Invest in the education of our youth,” or “Spend wisely.” Such promises usually devolve into pleas for more money. They rarely explore how we ended up in the first place with such severe crises in health care and education — and with trillions in borrowing to spend trillions more that we do not have....

This is his closing: All government officials talk of spending wisely, but they never tell us the true extent of their financial malfeasance. Imagine if last week, in his address to Congress, President Obama had said something like the following: “We must cut spending, since the borrowed money must come from somewhere. Either we print more paper dollars, and eventually ruin the value of our currency in the manner now common in Zimbabwe or Argentina; or we continue to borrow from the Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans, and therefore mortgage both our honor and our autonomy; or, in the manner of War Bonds during the Second World War, we will have to ask you all to forgo stocks, 401(k)s, and real-estate investments, and instead each month, as part of your patriotic duty, buy U.S. government savings bonds that garner almost no interest, to subsidize our nation’s lavish borrowing and spending.”

Only that way could we have an honest national debate on whether the proposed high-speed rail between Vegas and LA is worth making Americans soon pay $10 for a Big Mac; or whether federally subsidized community organizing justifies more begging for help from the Communist government in Beijing; or whether we would all like to accept 0.05 interest on our government bonds to finance the mortgage bailout of those in arrears on their home debt.

In short, for each word devoted to spending, we need one word of honest exegesis about “paying for it.”

For the last 20 years, all our presidents have talked much about health care, education, and spending, while saying little. Either they were not honest enough to tell us the truth — or they were convinced that, like children, we simply couldn’t handle it if they did. ◼ Read the whole thing. YOu'll be glad you did. The Triumph of Banality - Obama didn't invent dishonesty in political discourse — but he has a talent for it. By Victor Davis Hanson

fuck the dow. it's time the professional investors come down to earth and live like we do and we have for the last decade... wondering where their next paycheck comes from, is their job, home, lifestyle secure...

maybe then we can reset our priorities as a people and adjust our goals as a society

security of all over greed...standard of living over lifestyles of the rich and jones's...healthcare for my parents instead of BMW's for Wall Street...basic dignity over outright greed...job growth over outsourcing...

the people are speaking, they're tired of the 'dow' lifestyle, it's time for a revolution, and it's time for the people to benefit in this economy and the dow to adjust to reality...

fuck greedfuck the dow***As the DOW is down 300 points today, hitting a 1997 low.

And California is in even worse shape:

Virtually throughout its history, and certainly in the 20th century, California has been known as the place to go for dynamism and growth. It did not become the richest, most populous, and most productive state solely because of its weather and natural resources.

So it takes a lot to turn California around from growth to contraction, from people moving into the state to a net exodus from the state, from business moving into California to businesses leaving California.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

"Gallegos, who said he is not personally a fan of the death penalty, said the process being driven by a local elected official may have its benefits. (☛ TS Death penalty: a DA's decision)

”There's a certain amount of justice which is uniform, and there's a certain amount of justice which responds to particular values and cultures of the particular community,” Gallegos said, pointing to judicial discretion in sentencing as an example."

And what are the values of our particular community? Do we put more value on the life of Andrew Pease than on the two men accused of killing (stabbing to death) Pease during a string of attempted robberies, ...(who) have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted robbery and robbery... at knifepoint?

Gallegos said this week that, in order to make the decision, he plans on waiting until all the case evidence is collected, before having each of the about 10 senior attorneys in his office review it.

”Everyone will individually reach their own opinion,” Gallegos said, “then we will get together and discuss it.”

Gallegos said his senior attorneys will then take a vote. If there's not a unanimous decision among his attorneys to pursue capital punishment, Gallegos said it's unlikely he would opt to pursue it.

”If there's not a unanimous decision in our office, then it's not likely we're going to get a unanimous verdict,” he said.Gallegos said he only supports pursuing the death penalty in the most heinous of cases.

”In my opinion, the death penalty should only be something that should be sought in the most egregious circumstances,” he said. “Justice and retribution can't be the same, therefore, it has to be something where it serves a purpose other than retribution.”

Bizarre. I didn't know he HAD 10 senior attorneys left, so that's comical. Maybe he really has learned something after all, and WILL listen to others in his office this time. But that is another of his odd statements that don't quite jibe.

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Paul Gallegos

The Humboldt County Grand Jury found that "Weak leadership and poor managerial practices" have undermined the office... Implicit in all evidence gathered by the Grand Jury - including interviews with the D.A. (Paul Gallegos) - is the unfortunate truth that the D.A. (Paul Gallegos) exhibits a limited understanding of how things are done in the department" Gallegos "lacks the global perspective needed to keep the department operating efficiently," and quotes an unnamed staff member as saying, "The D.A. (Paul Gallegos) does not fully understand the functionality of many of the things we do here" - Years later, in his own words: "I’m not an administrator, they didn’t elect me to be an administrator, they elected me to make sure this office runs..."

It’s still heresy to say it out loud, but the great secret of the Gallegos constituency is how many people in the camp are, truth be told, sick to death of the man. I have seen radical lefty Humboldt State professors roll their eyes and gag when his name comes up. I have talked to more than one person on his endorsement list who half-hates himself for allowing his name to be used. The question is: What will these people do in the privacy of the voting booth?Hank Sims

Gallegos on Measure T

6 minute VIDEO Click on the pic Anonymous: Gallegos looks and sounds like he either had been drinking or hitting off his bong. What a nut.... Anonymous: My favorite Gallegos moment in this snippet is when he says he supports Measure T for two reasons and holds up one finger to emphasize the point.

PleaDealsRUS

Letting Bad Guys Off Easy Since 2003

Douglas & Zanotti

CASE TOSSED The district attorney misrepresented the law and failed to provide evidence of former Eureka Police Chief David Douglas' and Lt. Tony Zanotti's innocence during a criminal grand jury inquiry into the 2006 shooting death of Cheri Lyn Moore, defense attorneys argued in court documents filed Thursday... ”Our judicial system stands as a real and necessary check on the grand jury indictment process,” one of the documents states. “This court has the authority and the means by which to halt this prosecution, which is justified neither by the undisputed facts, nor by the law.”

Gallegos has taken what was "arguably the state's best small DA's office, with a cutting edge CAST program that "trained the trainers"... into a bunch of time serving bureaucratic wannabee brown nosers, lightly sprinkled with a couple of earnest learners who are sure to split as soon as possible.

One weeps for Max Cardoza who won Angellel, and for Maggie Fleming who won so many impossible victories. Mired in Humboldt for personal reasons, they have to suffer the ignominy of working for Paul, with Yougo, yes, yougo who has freed more people as a prosecutor than he did as a defense attorney. As has Paul. Anonymous comment

Gallegos has answers for everything. I’ve never met anyone whose answers came so quickly, with such polish - except about his law school(s). He likely sounded the same way when promising to get prosecutors off their anachronistic “at will” status and onto civil service status. It never happened. Indeed, he told them, “Disloyalty will not be tolerated” – a real morale builder.

He sounds great. What progressive doesn’t want to believe in him? But it’s a myth. He’s an intellectual lightweight and self-aggrandizer who tries to please everybody with glib answers. Jim Fahey for The Arcata Eye

The Humboldt County DA's office is one of the most exciting prosecutorialoffices in California.

Its District Attorney, Paul Gallegos, is willing to charge anyone who commitswrongdoing--no matter how wealthy, sacrosanct, or ruthless. He believes in total equality before the law. He also plans to be innovative in promoting programs of prevention and treatment. He wants to make it the best prosecutorial office of its size in the nation.... Gallegos' Help Wanted ad

Plagiarism

1980 Murder

Gallegos' OWN Quotes

★ ...District Attorney Paul Gallegos said he believes the statute of limitations clock, even on misdemeanors, doesn't start running until law enforcement knows or reasonably should have known of the offense. In this case, Gallegos said, that means the statute of limitations would not run out at least until Feb. 8, 2009, or one year after Gundersen's arrest and the discovery of the photographs in question...

★ “I never said that the information was not available under the Freedom of Information Act. Quite the contrary, I informed you that our use of force policy is not a public record.” Paul Gallegos to the Times Standard 5/25/07

★ ...“One is that I do everything to make people happy which means I don’t stand for anything except for just something,” he said. “The other is I stand for something and I try to be a leader and take some people, a group of people, a community someplace and I say guess what folks, this is who I am. I stand for your beliefs. We share these beliefs or we don’t. You get the option to judge that. This is who I am and I am committed to leading us this place, wherever it is...." Eureka Reporter Gallegos defends record, looks ahead 7/3/2005

★ Note the difference between what he SAID, and what he DOES..."...So what are these issues? Top on Gallegos' list is the proliferation of "garbage cases," small-time crimes and overcharged cases that he said are clogging up the court system.

Garbage cases, said Gallegos, come in two forms: Cases that would lose if actually brought to trial and cases that are overcharged for the crimes committed. The idea behind filing both kinds of garbage, he said, is to get the defendant to plead guilty, netting a conviction without having to go into court.

Again, the IRONY is astounding! Look at what he SAYS, and then think about what he DOES! "Probably 95 percent of the cases that are filed plead guilty. In fact, there are a lot of cases that are filed on the assumption they will plead guilty, because of the time and expense involved in defending them. But these cases shouldn't even be filed in the first place, because if they were challenged, they would lose," Gallegos said. Better yet: If they weren't filed at all, it would save the county time and money...." North Coast Journal 2/21/02 Too bad he didn't take his own advice.

★ “Tim’s a stud,” he said. “He really is; anyone would be stoked to have him.” Gallegos on his second in command right hand man Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen. (Former second in command right hand man to Jim Jones/People's Temple.)

NOT GUILTY!

"This is not the crime of the century. I'll concede that entirely." Humboldt County DA Paul Gallegos on the Toddler Wandering case, where he threw the full weight of the law against an innocent father. The jury took a couple of minutes to sign the papers needed to find him not guilty. Only one example of Gallegos' schizophrenic pattern of pursuing cases.

Local serial killer

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NOTE:

"Helping Crush Progressivism" - ie: exposing the predatory litigious orgs and those who seek power for power's sake.... The original purpose of watchpaul is to post important documents relating to Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and his handlers who seek to gain power through the acquisition of political offices. This includes, but is not limited to, the manipulations of "Humboldt Watershed Council," "EPIC," "Baykeeper," and other activist groups - the unregulated orgs. It also includes the master manipulators, such as Richard Salzman and Ken Miller.

Links to key stories and documents are also included in the sidebar, so that you do not have to try to scroll back through what has become a lengthy series of posts. I encourage you to use the Search and Labels features as well.

NOTE:

The Eureka Reporter ceased publication and pulled all online archives. Links to ER stories will no longer work. Some stories have been saved on watchpaul.articles, the rest can, hopefully, be accessed at the Humboldt State University Library.